They said Hogan didn't consent to the video, that Gawker didn't follow usual journalism procedures before posting it and that the video wasn't newsworthy. Gawker did not try to contact Bollea or the woman in the video, and nor did the website contact the woman's husband, DJ Bubba The Love Sponge Clem, who recorded the video.

It was never conclusively determined during trial who leaked the video to the media.

Hogan didn't ask for any of this to happen, lawyer Kenneth Turkel said, adding that Bollea, the private man, expected privacy during an intimate moment. Much was made during the trial of Hogan's celebrity persona versus Bollea's privacy.

"I want you to imagine the fact that for 35 plus years he is essentially an actor, an entertainer, who has played the same role," said Turkel.

He suggested that although the jurors might find the video, Gawker and Hogan's sex life distasteful, they must protect the First Amendment right to free speech.

"We ask you to protect something that some of you may find unpleasant," he said. "To write, to speak, to think about all topics, to hold public figures accountable. It is right in the long run for our freedoms."

Meanwhile, in a related development, sealed documents in the case were unsealed late Friday.

Attorneys for media companies including The Associated Press sought to have the files unsealed and an appeals court agreed Thursday.